THIS QUARTERLY

Lose weight & live well with bariatric surgery

This option can do more than just help you shed excess weight; the treatment can vastly improve all aspects of your life.

Dr Ganesh RamalingamGeneral Surgeon

You will definitely eat less if you feel full after eating a small portion of food. This is what bariatric surgery does, and why it is so effective in helping people lose weight.

It is particularly useful for people who have not achieved long-term success with other weight-loss attempts. The surgery reduces the stomach’s capacity, which limits food intake and makes you feel full sooner.

Generally, if you have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more, you could be a candidate for bariatric surgery. Those with a BMI of 40 or more can develop serious health issues because of excess weight, and bariatric surgery may be the best option for swift results. A specialist can determine if you are suitable and which treatment option will best for you.

Adjustable gastric banding: laparoscopy ( which involves small cuts in the bell) is used to place an adjustable silicone band around the upper portion of the stomach. Squeezed by this band, the stomach becomes a poiuch with an outlet that’s about 2.5cm wide and can only hold about 30g of food. A plastic tube runs from the silicone band to a device under the skin through which saline can be injected or removed to make kthe band tighter or looser. This controls the amount of food able to pass into the stomach.

Sleeve gastrectomy: more than half of you stomach is surgically removed, leaving behind a thin vertical sleeve that’s about the size of a shirt sleeve. This procedure is not reversible.

Laparoscopic gastric bypass: involves shutting off a large section of your stomach. The remaining small section is where food goes. Because of its size, you will eat less and lose weight. A bypass is created between that part of your stomach and part of the small intestine. The food will no longer enter parts of the stomach and small intestine where food is broken down ; your body will absorb fewer calories.

Gastric banding and sleeve gastrecomy tend to lead to a loss of about 50% of the excess weight, usually within a year.

Gastric banding is considered the least-invasive and safest weight-loss surgery, and can be reversed. Sleeve gastrectomy is getting popular because of its high success rate and low incidence of complications. Laparoscopic

gastric bypass surgery is a good option for metabolic diseases like hypertension and hyper cholesterol and especially, for treatment of diabetes.

With their new smaller stomachs, people who have undergone bariatric surgery must eat in a very controlled manner. They might also have to take vitamins and supplements.

With obesity and associated conditions growing, bariatric surgery can help improve well-being. The surgery should only be performed by a skilled specialist, with the chances of success vastly improving under the care of an experienced medical team.